INDIANAPOLIS — Gov. Eric Holcomb announced on Wednesday that he will not extend the eviction moratorium again like he did earlier this summer. It is set to expire on Friday.
That means landlords may begin the eviction process for tenants who have been unable to pay their rent due to COVID-19.
"It's super stressful thinking about what now," one woman, who asked not to be identified, said.
Many Hoosiers are finding themselves in a tough spot, the pandemic leaving them without a job or with a reduced income.
"With my reduction to 50 percent of my income, it has been significantly different," the woman said.
She's not alone.
"It's heartbreaking," Bill Bickel, program director at Holy Family Shelter, said. "It's absolutely heartbreaking."
Bickel said the shelter has seen an increased need due to the pandemic and it is expected to increase even more after the eviction moratorium is lifted Friday.
"The moratorium itself has held off a number of families that otherwise would have become homeless," Bickel said. "Literally, homeless on the streets."
The shelter is already at capacity so they're working to place families in need in extended stay hotels and provide them with everything they need to get by as families make cuts in their budget, saying the ability to pay rent is most important right now.
"You want to know that you have a safe home to be in and you can count on that," the woman said.
Many organizations, churches and shelters are stepping up to also help negotiate payment plans between families and landlords to prevent evictions and keep people in their homes, especially once the moratorium is lifted.
"I think the need for families regarding these services is going to be cataclysmic," Bickel said.
The woman had advice to others in her position.
"I would say to search, call up different areas, different churches, Google resources because it seems like there is help out there but it's not widely advertised," the woman said.
Holcomb is directing people to the state's rental assistance program. $40 million was added to it last week.
